Game On‪!‬ JOY 94.9 - Rainbow Community Podcasts for our LGBTI, LGBTIQA+, LGBTQIA+, LGBT, LGBTQ, LGB, Gay, Lesbian, Trans, Intersex, Queer Communities

Welcome to Game On! JOY 94.9’s Home of Sport every Tuesday from 7-8pm where you’ll hear where you can get your game on! This show is all about you and how you can get your game on by showcasing where sport is safe, inclusive, welcoming and fun for the Rainbow community!

We are joined by Suzie Betts, Founder of Boob Armour who is on a mission to ensure that as women advance in sport, sport also evolves and changes to cater for a changing sporting landscape. We have skin guards, mouth guards and helmets to keep women and girls safe during sport and now we have breast protection specifically targeted at protecting women and girls’ breasts during sports and exercise – a first of its kind in Australia. (Starts 4:14)

Chris Paouros, Co-founder and Co-Chair of the Proud Lilywhites – Tottenham Hotspur’s official LGBTQIA+ supporters’ group chats to us live from the UK. With Australian-born Ange Postecoglou appointed head coach of the English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur on 6 June 2023, the Lilywhites have seen a meteoric rise up the ladder with ten straight wins but is Big Ange also making sure goals are being kicked for inclusivity? (Starts 14:16)

We head to Cologne, Germany to chat with David Smith, Head Coach for Stonewall Performance about why it’s important for the Rainbow community to take part in sport and he shares some great advice for how you can get your game on! (Starts 25:21)

And being the final show for 2023, we take time out to say a massive thank you to the eighty-five guests from across Australia and around the world who shared their time, passion, success and challenges across the weeks so that we can get our game on! We hear a montage of voices from everyone who has embraced the joy that sport can bring and in doing so have enriched their lives and those of others. (Starts 37:35)

There is a still a long way to go, but over the past twenty-two weeks we have found where sport is welcoming, safe, inclusive and fun for the Rainbow community!

A big thank you to all of our guests for their support of an inclusive and supportive sporting culture and mindset, and encouraging everyone in the Rainbow community to get their game on!

And thank you for being a part of Team Game On!

Welcome to Game On! JOY 94.9’s Home of Sport every Tuesday from 7-8pm where you’ll hear where you can get your game on! This show is all about you and how you can get your game on by showcasing where sport is safe, inclusive, welcoming and fun for the Rainbow community!

Coach Daddy – Sam Dengate – Founder and Head Coach – TGeneration Gyms joins Game On! in the JOY 94.9 Studio to talk about an amazing event in its second year – the Trans Takeover #2 on December 16. It’s a popular event with a full house of competitors and all proceeds to be donated to charity – the Trans Justice Project –  building a movement standing up for justice and equality for trans and gender diverse people.

Sam shares his Top Five Safe Spaces for trans and gender-diverse folk to get active and be part of an awesome community, and provides a few great suggestions across Australia and internationally. (Starts 3:10)

Looking to get fit for summer? Sam gets into Coach Daddy beast mode and shares some great advice on how to live your best active life in the coming months. (Starts 12:57)

We are joined by amazing ally – Grace Ross-Hubble – Sport Coordinator – University Sport, Macquarie University to talk about how Macquarie University has been a trailblazer in the university sector to make the world of sport and fitness a more inclusive, and safe space for the Rainbow community.  The team at Macquarie University has been recognised at the national Pride In Sport awards as a Gold Tier Sporting Organisation for three consecutive years (2021-2023) and was awarded Sporting Organisation of the Year in 2022.  And resting on their laurels is not an option! Its onwards and upwards as they head into 2024 as an inclusive team! (Starts 23:45)

Australian-born transgender cricketer Danielle McGahey. Danielle has dedicated her life to cricket: playing men’s grade cricket in Australia before moving to Canada where she was welcomed into cricketing circles – playing women’s cricket and was called into the national team in October 2022. In November 2023, the International Cricket Council (ICC) ruled players who have been through male puberty will not be able to compete in international women’s cricket. Danielle shares the impact on her international cricket career now being all but over, insights into the broader cricketing landscape and  what the future holds. (Starts 33:35)

A big thank you to all of our guests for their support of an inclusive and supportive sporting culture and mindset, and encouraging everyone in the Rainbow community to get their game on!

Welcome to Game On! JOY 94.9’s Home of Sport every Tuesday from 7-8pm where you’ll hear where you can get your game on! This show is all about you and how you can get your game on by showcasing where sport is safe, inclusive, welcoming and fun for the Rainbow community!

It’s just over a year when Isaac Humphries shared his truth with his Club at the time Melbourne United Basketball Club and then the sporting world making him the only openly gay male professional basketball player currently playing in a top tier league, anywhere in the world, and the first ever Australian male basketball player and first player in the NBL to be openly gay. November 16 2022. Nick Truelson, CEO Melbourne United Basketball club came to the JOY 94.9 Studio at the Victorian Pride Centre to share the lead up to this momentous occasion in male sport and the positive impact across the NBL. (Starts 1:33)

The Melbourne Basketball Club is continuing to embracing inclusivity as a core value celebrating with the Slam Dunk for Inclusivity event where allies including Dannii Minogue actively supported the return of the 2024 Champion Pride Round with an Australian-first ‘PRIDE’ display made entirely from basketballs, donated by Spalding. Make sure to check out the Melbourne United Champion Pride game being a home game as part of the Pride Round on the 3rd February 2024. (Starts 12:22)

Mick Garnett, CEO of Wheelchair Sport NSW/ACT, The Governing Body for nine Wheelchair Sports across NSW/ACT joined Game On! to talk about a celebration of LGBTQ+ inclusion in wheelchair sport. The annual Rolling Rainbow Sports Day on the 26th November at the Sydney Academy of Sport in Narrabeen in NSW – for the 3rd year! It’s a free, multi-sport day for members and allies of the rainbow community to come along, dress fun, let loose, and play some wheelchair sport. Everyone is welcome! (Starts 22:35)

And what is happening in Auckland – the City of Sails?  A lot! An entire five days of inclusive sport! Tom Leonard, Event Director for the Rainbow Games Tamaki Makaurau Auckland 2024 joins us to tell us all about the fifteen sports on offer, the five fabulous ambassadors and how the event aims to leave a legacy for the next generation of Rainbow youth. Auckland from April 4-8th, 2024 is the place to be! (33:27)

And Who is getting their game on this week? Mitch Creek, South East Melbourne Phoenix forward and Champion Pride Round ambassador for being an awesome ally, terrific brother and all round great guy for the Rainbow community! (Starts 42:14)

A big thank you to all of our guests for their support of an inclusive and supportive sporting culture and mindset so that everyone can enjoy getting their game on!

Welcome to Game On! JOY 94.9’s Home of Sport every Tuesday from 7-8pm where you’ll hear where you can get your game on! This show is all about you and how you can get your game on by showcasing where sport is safe, inclusive, welcoming and fun for the Rainbow community!

We explore where you can having a winning career in the racing industry thanks to the Racing Queensland Racing With Pride series which is designed to encourage more LGBTIQA+ people to consider a career in racing by showcasing people working in the industry that identify as LGBTIQA+ It is wonderful that as we acknowledge and celebrate Trans Awareness Week (13-19 November) this terrific series shares the stories of Ashley Wilson, Tyler Leslight and Tye Findlay. On the show we are joined by Nick Beck from Beck Racing who provides terrific insights and advice in navigating becoming your authentic self. “Be your own hero”. (Starts 2:59)

Dion Alexander previously Mr Gay Pride Australia 2022 has returned from a recent trip to Cape Town, South Africa crowned Mr Gay World Second Runner Up 2023! A great achievement and with a promise to continue to invest in his platform which is to champion ending homophobia in the AFL and leave the world a better place. Dion also has a podcast – Our Pride by Mr Gay Pride Australia so check it out or even reach out to be a guest on his show! (Starts 12:21)

Hong Kong’s Gay Games marked the first time in the inclusive sporting event’s 40-year history that it was handed to an Asian city and it all started on the 3rd November until the 11 November. The aim was to promote inclusivity, diversity, and equality through sport and cultural exchange. Some 2,000 athletes in Hong Kong took part in sports such as badminton, dodgeball, fencing, swimming, running and trail running and we had the very great pleasure of being joined by Richard Lie who took out gold in the 6km Trail run! Athletic prowess runs in the family as Richard’s sister also brought home gold! Richard’s response to “Would you go to another Gay Games event?” was an immediate yes!  It looks like Valencia, Spain 2026 is a must-do destination for the Lie family! (Starts 23:33)

The 33rd Melbourne Queer Film Festival is underway and the sport film line-up is sensational! Mitch Nivalis, Director Equal The Contest takes time out from a Tuesday night basketball game to chat about the making of their fantastic film which was focused on When the rules exclude you, rewrite them! That’s exactly what the Mount Alexander Falcons did in their quest to join the Central Victorian Football League. Check out the film screening 2pm Sunday 19th November at The Capitol for the Melbourne Premiere and/or be part of history and head to one of the Come & Try Days or a Pre-season Training session! (Starts 31:05)

And Who is getting their game on this week? Nic Norris and Beck Barnes – Melbourne Frontrunners, Melbourne’s inclusive running and walking club for the LGBTQ+ community and allies! This dynamic duo completed their goal of running a marathon in each Australian state and territory – together – every step of the way in 2023 – even crossing the finish line hand in hand!

Welcome to Game On! JOY 94.9’s Home of Sport every Tuesday from 7-8pm where you’ll hear where you can get your game on! This show is all about you and how you can get your game on by showcasing where sport is safe, inclusive, welcoming and fun for the Rainbow community!

The 2023 Melbourne Cup has been run and won and we share where you can be on a winner in the racing industry!

Racing Queensland has launched a fantastic Racing with Pride series focused on sharing the stories from members of the LGBTIQA+ community and their experiences working in the racing industry. There are eight wonderful four minute videos on the Racing Queensland website and Scott Miller, Assistant Trainer Shannon Price stable joins us to share his story. Congratulations to Racing Queensland for leading the way in changing Australia’s sporting culture to be more inclusive! (Starts 2:33)

Annie Alexander, General Manager of Alexander Racing, a racehorse trainer based in Ballarat shares the joyous news of  Project Pride – Australia’s first-ever LGBTQI+ horse racing syndicate with the aims of providing a safe space for the rainbow community while flying the flag! And you can get involved as a syndicate member joining footy legend Dani Laidley and her partner Donna Leckie as Ambassadors.  (Starts 33:09)

The 2023 Melbourne Queer Film Festival starts screening from the 9th to the 19th November. Cerise Howard, Program Director,  Melbourne Queer Film Festival pops int to the JOY 94.9 Studio to let us know which sporty films are screening this year and why they were selected. You are in for a treat! Check out Equal The Contest, Offside and Marinette for three brilliant sport-based movies which raise issues of who gets to participate in sport and who gets to decide. (Starts 12:29)

We head west to talk with Richie Yates, Co-President, Perth Frontrunners to talk PrideFEST and what the Perth Frontrunners are up to this year! The 2023 Pride Run & Walk on Saturday 11 November  is a 5km run or 3km walk with a very campy Festival Zone to follow! There will be delicious food, lots of fun, fever pitch festivities and the Perth Frontrunners! Talk about FOMO! (Starts 25:06)

In Who is getting their game on? this week, it’s Dani Laidley and Donna Leckie for continuing to be out, loud and proud! It’s a winning trifecta on Melbourne Cup Day – the release of Revealed : Dani Laidley – Two Tribes on Stan, Dani confirming her interest in applying for an AFLW coaching role, and Dani and Donna being ambassadors for Australia’s first syndicated LGBTIQA+ and allies owned racehorse – Project Pride! (Starts 44:10)

A big thank you to all of our guests for their support of an inclusive and supportive sporting culture and mindset so that everyone can enjoy getting their game on!

Welcome to Game On! JOY 94.9’s Home of Sport every Tuesday from 7-8pm where you’ll hear where you can get your game on! This show is all about you and how you can get your game on by showcasing where sport is safe, inclusive, welcoming and fun for the Rainbow community!

Anthony Lawrence CEO Clublinks joins us to tell us all about the brand spanking new Northcote Aquatic and Recreation Centre (NARC) officially opening on November 13 and how the centre has been designed with the Rainbow community at heart. The team is on a mission to create happiness, brightness, energy and fun. Join in the Community Day on the 12 the November and check out all the action on the socials.   (Starts 2:35)

The 2023 Melbourne Queer Film Festival starts screening from the 9th to the 19th November and one awesome feature length documentary in the line up is Shape directed by Roger Ungers Roger That Pictures. Shape explores body image amongst cis-gendered men who are attracted to men and the complex issue of when idolisation leads to exclusion. (Starts 12:02)

Hong Kong’s Gay Games will mark the first time in the inclusive sporting event’s 40-year history that it has been handed to an Asian city and it all starts on the 3rd November until the 11th November. The aim is to promote inclusivity, diversity, and equality through sport and cultural exchange.

Joshua Keefe, Professional Dancer, Choreographer, Dance Teacher extraordinaire and Talent Manager Gay Games Hong Kong joins us to tell us all about the world-class concert series in conjunction with the Games featuring local, regional, and international talent to fully showcase the capabilities and robustness of Asia’s World City. And a fabulous first in Gay Games history!

The Gala Concert Series is a two-night extravaganza on the 5th and 6th November of talent featuring electrifying performances by artists from across the globe showcasing vocal, orchestral, dance, and performance art talent. Joshua’s former Dancing With The Stars Australia partner Courtney Act! headlines night one with the exciting news that Joshua will also be taking to the stage! This is sure to be something very special!

Joshua also provides insights into life for the queer community in Hong Kong with two recent positive court rulings and the difference he is making for the next generation of up coming dancers with his dance school for kids Move For Life. (Starts 23:24)

In Who is getting their game on? this week, it’s Julie Ryan – Secretary of Proud2Play joined by Helen Tyrkos – Treasurer Proud2Play for being visible for the Rainbow community when and where it counts! (Starts 41: 56)

A big thank you to all of our guests for their support of an inclusive and supportive sporting culture and mindset so that everyone can enjoy getting their game on!